Jock Climie

The plaintiff brought a wrongful dismissal action in Ontario against his British Columbia employer after being dismissed from his employment in Nevada.

The defendant brought a motion to set aside service and stay the proceedings, arguing Ontario lacked jurisdiction and was not the convenient forum.

The motion judge dismissed the motion, finding jurisdiction simpliciter and that Ontario was the convenient forum.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the defendant's appeal, holding that there was a real and substantial connection to Ontario and that the motion judge did not err in considering the plaintiff's loss of juridical advantage if forced to litigate in Nevada.

The grievor, a part-time security guard, grieved that she was unfairly denied a full-time rotational security guard position because she lacked the required post-secondary education.

The union argued the educational requirement was unnecessary and the grievor had the skills and ability to do the job.

The employer argued the union was estopped from objecting to the requirement, the requirement was within management rights, and the grievor lacked the necessary skills.

The Grievance Settlement Board found the union was not estopped and the educational requirement was not strictly necessary, but dismissed the grievance because the union failed to prove the grievor possessed the requisite communication skills and judgement for the position.